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Every Lady Wanted the Duke — But He Chose the Chubby Girl Who Didn’t Even Notice Him

Every Lady Wanted the Duke — But He Chose the Chubby Girl Who Didn’t Even Notice Him

Chapter 17

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Mabel kept her voice steady. "I will open a catering business."Lucien put down his knife. "You will?"Mabel looked at him. "I will."Lucien frowned. "Where?"Mabel shrugged. "Near Covent Garden, if the rent is reasonable."Lucien studied her. "You have not mentioned this."Mabel raised an eyebrow. "You did not ask."Lucien kept his gaze on her. "I did not know I should."Mabel lifted a brow. "That is generally how questions work."Lucien looked annoyed, but not at her: he was annoyed at himself for wanting to know everything about a future that did not include him.That afternoon, Lucien visited the estate office. Mabel followed because she had found a discrepancy in the railway accounts.Lucien stopped at the carriage door. "You cannot come into a private meeting."Mabel stepped past him. "I am your wife."Lucien kept his voice low. "A temporary wife."Mabel looked back at him. "A temporary wife with a better eye for columns."Lucien opened the carriage door. "You are impossible."Mabel climbed in. "And yet you keep opening doors."At the estate office, a young clerk named Jasper Kett showed them the ledgers. Jasper was pale, earnest, and frightened of the Duke's eyebrows.Mabel spread the papers over the desk. The railway had paid Northmere Fuel for coal that never arrived; it had also paid a company called Harrow and Pike for repairs that had never been requested.Lucien pointed at the name. "Harrow and Pike belongs to Silas."Jasper whispered, "It belongs to a woman named Elspeth Pike."Mabel looked at Jasper. "Who is she?"Jasper kept his voice low. "The wife of Silas's valet."Lucien's jaw tightened.Jasper reached under the desk and produced a small tin box. Inside were copies of invoices, letters, and a railway map marked with red pins. Jasper held the box with both hands. "I kept these because the numbers did not agree. Mr. Hobb told me to destroy them."Mabel touched the map. "The missing coal is not being sold in London."Lucien looked down. "It is going north."Mabel traced the line. "To the factories beyond Caldermir."Lucien nodded. "Factories that compete with my railway."Silas was not merely stealing: he was weakening the railway before the trustees' decision. If he obtained control of the line, he could buy it cheaply after its value collapsed.Jasper's hand shook. "What will happen to me?"
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Every Lady Wanted the Duke — But He Chose the Chubby Girl Who Didn’t Even Notice Him

29 Part